Lady Whirlwinds topple Conway, now 2-0The Russellville Lady Whirlwinds defeated the Conway Blue Lady Wampus Cats 25-10, 25-10, 25-10 on Wednesday inside Whirlwind Gymnasium to improve to 2-0 on the season. Russellville head coach Cindy Williams said she is looking forward to the future with this year's Lady Whirlwinds. 'This is a team you will want to come and watch," she said. "They play so well together and do so many things right. They are a great group and really are represent...

by
BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
sports@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Pottsville tennis opens season with tri-matchesThe Pottsville Apaches kicked off their tennis season with back-to-back tri-matches recently. First, Pottsville hopped down the road to the RHS Cyclones tennis courts and faced Russellville and Conway Wampus Cats. Pottsville won 12-of-17 matches played. Next, the Apaches headed to Arkansas Tech University (ATU) to take on the Farmington Cardinals and the Dardanelle Sand Lizards. In that tri-match, the Apaches won 12-of-14 matches played. "I co...

by
BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
sports@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

RJHS volleyball notches first winThe Russellville Junior High Lady Whirlwinds opened its season with a 25-14, 25-20 victory over the North Little Rock Lady Charging Wildcats on Monday inside Whirlwind Gymnasium. "Excellent play all the way around," Russellville head coach Cindy Williams said after the match. "The back row of Emy Moreno, Lizzy Callaway and Maddie Wojtkowski were on fire. Lilly Ruston finished the match off with a perfect 'animal' ball." Williams also complimen...

by
BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
sports@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Atkins Lions Club hear about Red Devils footballTHE COURIER / Submitted Atkins Lions Club hears about Red Devils football Atkins Red Devils head football coach Tommy Cody speaks to the Lions Club about the football program. Cody said the 28-man team has "all good players." Cody also spoke about the current discussion surrounding football and head injuries. Cody said the team keeps a physical therapist on the sidelines at every game, and players are not allowed to play if it is suspected the...

by
BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
sports@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Local takes fifth at World ChampionshipOKLAHOMA CITY -- Jenna Meimerstorf of Russellville earned fifth place during the 2017 Built Ford Tough American Quarter Horse Youth Association World Championship Show on Aug. 12. Meimerstorf showed the American Quarter Horse Ten Surprizes owned by Meimerstorf. The 2011 Palomino Gelding, sired by Hang Ten Surprize and out of Holly O Jay, was bred by Rosanne Sternberg of Aubrey, Texas. In Level Two and Level Three Reining, 123 entries competed ...

by
Courier sports staffThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

RHS announces HOF inducteesBY TRAVIS SIMPSON sports@couriernews.com The Russellville Athletic Department recently announced the 2017 Hall of Fame and Volunteer of the Year inductees. Nate Turner, Cale Fulsom and Matthew Campbell will be inducted into the hall of fame at 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 29 at the Hall of Fame Banquet inside the lobby of the Russellville Center for the Arts. "We are excited about the three newest members to the Hall of Fame," Russellville athletic dir...

First Dover volleyball season begins MondayDOVER -- Lady Pirates head coach Kaci Posey saw an awakening in her first-year volleyball players this offseason. "I'm definitely starting to see girls develop a passion for the sport of volleyball," said Posey, who was hired to launch Dover's first volleyball program over the summer. Posey said she saw girls begin to realize that competitive volleyball is more complicated and more intriguing than the recreational volleyball many of them were ...

by
BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
sports@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

RHS wrestling enters next phase of offseasonRussellville Cyclones head wrestling coach Adrian Meredith wants his team hungry for "mat time" by the time the season rolls around. The wrestling team spent the summer lifting weights inside Cyclone Arena, but almost no time in the Terry Davis Wrestling Room working on moves and technique. There's a reason for that, Meredith said. "When it's offseason, we try and get away from the wrestling room because those guys are in there five days per w...

by
BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
sports@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

RHS volleyball prepares for seasonRussellville Lady Cyclones first-year head volleyball coach Ashley Jackson is pleased with the progress her team has made since she took over the program over the summer. "We've been practicing since about the Fourth of July for most of us," she said. "We went to the Arkansas Tech camp to start to figure out what we are thinking as far as positions and strengths and weaknesses when we faced bigger opponents." One strength: Jackson said the gir...

by
BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
simpson@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Five years in, Johnson sets sites on futureBY TRAVIS SIMPSON sports@couriernews.com Russellville athletic director Johnny Johnson accomplished many of the goals he laid out after his hiring in 2012. In an article with The Courier, "Meet Johnny Johnson" published Oct. 2012, Johnson said he wanted to upgrade the scoreboard at Cyclone Stadium, renovate or build a new basketball gymnasium and make the baseball fields at M.J. Hickey Park "as good as we can possibly make them." "We want to g...

by
BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
sports@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

'Once a Cyclone, always a Cyclone' Family establishes Andrew Pollack Memorial ScholarshipMaegan Pollack wanted to honor her late husband Andrew Pollack, 24, who passed away on Aug. 5, 2017. Andrew, who lettered three years for the Russellville Cyclones, loved football. So a scholarship for a Russellville football player heading to Arkansas Tech University seemed like the perfect fit. "In honor of Andrew, a scholarship fund has been set up through First Security Bank," Maegan wrote Monday on her Facebook page. "The scholarship will...

by
BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
sports@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Cyclone Extravaganza set for Aug. 19Courier sports staff The third annual Cyclone Extravaganza is scheduled to kickoff the new year on at Russellville High School on Aug. 19. The event, which acts as a fundraiser for multiple programs, is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. with a 5k race and conclude around 9 p.m. with a firework so. The event will see intersquad scrimmages for the volleyball team, football teams, band performance and introductions for several other organizations. See...

by
Courier sports staffThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

The most wonderful time of the yearIt's football season, and that means I've been busy. Each year, we visit all 12 schools in the Tri-County area for our annual high school football preview. The special section, which is actually two magazines, is 64 pages of photos, interviews and information about the upcoming season. Look for it inside The Courier on Aug. 27 -- a mere three weeks away. That said, I thought it'd be interesting to give my somewhat unfiltered opinion on each of...

Russellville AD Johnson on national boardRussellville athletic director Johnny Johnson was recently appointed to the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) to represent Sect 6 on the Board of Directors, which includes ARkansas, TExas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Colorado. The NIAAA is the national organization for high school, junior high and middle school athletic directors across the nation and abroad. Johnson said he will be able to continue his athletic...

by
BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
sports@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

AAA votes in eight governing changesLITTLE ROCK -- The Arkansas Activities Association (AAA) conducts its annual Governing Body meeting at the State House Convention Center on Monday. Nine proposals were voted on by the body -- eight passed and one failed. Listed below are the results of the Governing Body Meeting. No. 1 -- Ejection Penalty and Review Changes the amount of time a player is prohibited from participation, and changes a football suspension from one full game to the...

by
Courier sports staffThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Red Devils host team camp Red Devils host team camp Atkins quarterback Zach Harris looks for a receiver during a team camp held at Atkins on Thursday. The Red Devils scrimmaged against Hector, Perryville, Bald Knob and Johnson County Westside. THE COURIER / Travis Simpson

by
BY TRAVIS SIMPSONsports@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley